


Beauty Pageant Dropout

by faithtastic



Category: Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-10
Updated: 2010-10-10
Packaged: 2017-10-12 13:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/125477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faithtastic/pseuds/faithtastic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lisa Swenson has a crush on the Mount Rose American Teen Princess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beauty Pageant Dropout

For Lisa Swenson, entering the Mount Rose American Teen Princess beauty contest is not just something to do. For other girls it's an alternative to cow-tipping or hanging around the Mall of America or having pre-marital sex. For Lisa, it's her destiny.

Every day she spends hours watching a worn VHS tape of Cabaret because she never could pick up the moves like Peter did. Rewind. Play. Rewind. Play. And she knows no matter how much she practices, she's never going to be Sally Bowles on a stage on Broadway.

If she's lucky and places, like, third, she could get that scholarship and learn to be a make up artist and that would be something, at least. Maybe not the star of stage her parents want her to be but not a complete loser either.

So she keeps practicing, goes to drama and tap classes two days a week after school, dances until she gets blisters on the soles of her feet and the photographs of Peter in costume, Peter with Liza Minnelli, serve as a constant reminder that she has to push herself harder.

She thinks about Peter living the bohemian off-off Broadway lifestyle in his tiny studio apartment half the size of her bedroom, about how proud their parents are of him and how they would die, absolutely die of shame if they found out that he is a screaming queen. Peter is gay; gayer than an all-male chorus harmonising Judy Garland songs in a pride parade in San Francisco.

It's something Lisa has always known. A fact as basic and obvious as the grass being green and the sky being blue. But her parents are oblivious or in denial and, sometimes, when she sees Mom sitting in Peter's room, preserved as it is like a shrine, clutching his old jazz shoes to her chest, Lisa rides this little wave of bitter satisfaction because she's more like Peter than they know.

She's always been a disappointment to them. They wanted another son, not a daughter. They wanted her to be graceful and poised, not clumsy. They wanted her to be beautiful, not unconventional. She may not have inherited Peter's sense of rhythm and style but, like him, she's queerer than a three dollar bill.

Not that she's been able to act on it. Mount Rose isn't exactly a hotbed of lesbian action. She used to wonder about Tammy Curry but then it turned out Tammy preferred the vibrations of her thrasher to anything else (to her misfortune) and that didn't leave a lot of other options. Except that, well, she has this totally unreciprocated crush on Amber Atkins.

In the weeks leading up to the beauty contest, rehearsal after rehearsal, practicing cheesy dance routines and their individual 'talents', Lisa finds herself increasingly enamoured by Amber. It's blatantly obvious that Becky Leeman is going to win and that's all down to nepotism but it's Amber who deserves first place and everyone can see it.

It's not just that Amber's beautiful – which, God, she is – but she's cute and perky and nice and it's just not fair that someone like Becky Leeman should win just because her mother organises the contest.

So Lisa doesn't think twice about giving Amber her own approved costume when Amber's is stolen on the night of the contest. When she finds herself with a lap full of Amber and a kiss on her cheek, it's a worthwhile trade-off for the hell her parents will give her. Sitting on the fire escape stairs with Amber clinging to her, hugging her tight, there's a million things that Lisa would like to say but there's no time because Amber's name is announced by Mrs Leeman and she's gone, leaving a disheveled but happy Lisa in her wake. The memory of the press of Amber's lips is almost enough to get her through the fallout from outing Peter after the contest. That tiny moment of malice irrevocably changes everything. Dad shuts down. Mom cries on the phone at Peter. They cancel her dance and voice lessons and she isn't actually all that sorry.

Just like the rest of the town, she goes to watch Becky Leeman climb aloft a giant swan only to seconds later see it burst into flame. The entire thing is consumed in less than two minutes, leaving only a charred metal frame that reeks of gasoline and the remains of the Teen Princess tiara. Then Mrs Leeman flips, confessing to rigging the contest and killing Tammy Curry. Lisa wonders how it all got so messed up and decides that maybe her own parents aren't so bad.

After Becky's funeral (not that there was anything much to bury except a small pile of ash and nobody knew what was Becky and what was the swan), Amber gets crowned Miss Mount Rose by default. Lisa tries to call her to congratulate her but Amber's new duties as Teen Princess are a whirlwind of supermarket appearances and other important engagements. It isn't until two weeks after the funeral that she finally manages to catch up with Amber at her trailer home, busy as she is packing for the regional contest.

She knocks tentatively on the doorframe after a moment of watching the other girl neatly fold a few items of clothing into an open suitcase. Amber brushes a few stray hairs distractedly out of her eyes and turns, a genuine smile on her face when she sees Lisa.

"Hey, just wanted to swing by and wish you luck," Lisa says, giving an awkward little wave before stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

"Thanks, I'm gonna need it."

"Yeah, right. You'll blow away the competition."

Amber tilts her head to the side and seems to smile wider. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be..." She trails off, shaking her head. "I still can't believe you did that."

Lisa shrugs lightly and that propels Amber forward, seizing her in a tight embrace. She's suddenly confronted with Amber's warm, lean body and the startlingly clean scent of her. It makes Lisa feel almost dizzy and then Amber lets go, taking a step back, and she can breathe again.

"Well, the costume looked a lot better on you anyway," Lisa giggles.

Pink touches Amber's cheeks for a moment and she smiles again.

Lisa clears her throat and nods toward the suitcase. "You must be excited. You get to go to the city for a couple of days."

"Oh my gosh, yes. And so nervous. But I've been practicing my routine hard. Hey, you wanna see it?"

"Yeah!" Lisa grins and plops herself down on Amber's bed.

She watches Amber dance with something approaching awe. Okay so the room is cramped and Amber's just wearing jeans and a t-shirt but there is something so glamorous about her and Lisa's unable to draw her eyes away as Amber twirls and moves. By the big finish Amber is a little breathless, escapee hairs from her loose ponytail falling into her eyes, and her cheeks are slightly flushed. She waits for Lisa's reaction and Lisa has to mentally slap herself out of her enraptured daze. So she bursts into applause, trying to cover her delayed response.

"That was... wow," Lisa says enthusiastically, willing herself not to trip over her words.

"Really?" Amber says, genuinely pleased. She sinks down on the bed beside Lisa, wiping her brow with the back of her hand.

Lisa nods, taking in Amber's glittering eyes, her slightly parted lips. "Yeah, you're amazing." Without meaning to, Lisa knows she's given herself away. Those blue eyes regard her curiously for a long moment and Lisa backtracks rapidly. "The routine, I mean, is amazing. So anyway, I guess I better let you get back to – "

Soft lips unexpectedly descending on Lisa's stop all further words leaving her mouth. She is dimly aware of all the places where Amber is touching her: lips, hip bone, knee, but the only thought her feeble mind can latch on to is: Amber is kissing her. Fingers move to her cheek, caressing there for a moment, then sink into her hair. After a few moments Lisa instinctively opens her mouth, allowing Amber to suck on her full lower lip, gently raking teeth over the tender flesh before deepening the kiss. The single thought circling around Lisa's brain expands: Amber is _making out_ with her. She is unable to suppress the moan that rises in her throat.

There's a tightness in her chest and her hands are shaking uncontrollably, still Amber continues nibbling her lips, sweeping her tongue across the roof of her mouth, tangling with her own tongue before retreating. Lisa tries to keep up, tries to keep her eyes from rolling back and getting totally lost in these sensations.

Eventually – minutes or hours later, Lisa is unable to tell – the kiss trails off and she immediately misses the contact. She feels drunk, like the room is spinning behind her eyelids but actually it is just her brain reeling.

"Um, okay..." she manages to say after a long silence, the words dropping lazily from her mouth.

"Yeah," Amber replies in a high-pitched voice.

They both look around the room, trying to focus anywhere but each other but their gazes edge gradually back. They regard each other shyly, neither making a move.

"I've never..." Amber bites her lip, starts again. "I'd never thought of kissing a girl until just then."

Lisa can't help but laugh. Lately, it was all she'd thought about but she'd never been able to put it into practice. Amber looks confused, not understanding the joke. "Sorry," Lisa says after composing herself. "I've been harbouring like this massive crush on you since this whole beauty contest thing began."

"Really?" Amber squeaks, flattered. "Oh, wow."

Lisa takes a breath before continuing. "I know you're probably freaking out right now and I completely understand if you don't like me that way 'cause, why would you? But I really like you, Amber, and if there's any remote chance that you would consider – "

"Yes."

" – maybe going out with – Wait. You said yes?"

"Yes."

Lisa's jaw drops open and she stares at Amber dumbfounded. She laughs again, this time out of sheer joy. She grabs Amber, hugging her tight, and soon Amber is giggling too. When the laughter dissipates, they remain holding each other. Lisa pulls back slightly and this time she closes the distance between their mouths, stealing a long, drawn-out kiss. They're both trembling but it's okay. Better than okay, actually, it's perfect.


End file.
